Allergies and Heart Palpitations

[cmd182405]

Does anyone know if allergies can cause an irregular heart beat?  I have been having an irregular heart beat for several months.  It usually happens in the evening after dinner.  Many nights I go to bed with a heart beat that keeps me awake.  When I wake up it has stopped and I feel fine.  I have been to the doctor and had an ekg and an electrocardiogram and everything looks normal.  I have noticed in the past if I am exposed to a strong perfume or strong candle my heart will pound.

[whatayear]

you can have a normal ekg and echo and still have an arrythmia problem you need to ask for a 30 event monitor and go from there its like having a 24 hour ekg and when you experience an episode it sends the even to your doc instantly!!!! good luck

[cmd182405]

It's frustrating talking to my doctor about it because they act like it's no big deal.  I have always been very aware of my heartbeat but this is very different.  I do know that the day they did the echo I was having a pretty good day.  They did see my heart skip a beat which is exactly what it feels like when it's really bad but what they saw was mild.  Do you know if allergies can cause this?  I have been having other symptoms that make me wonder about allergies, like my ears ringing.

[Amylynn3883]

It doesn't have to necessarily be an allergy issue.  Chemicals (In perfumes and such) can aggravate a pre-existing condition like PSVT, murmurs, whatever.  

[canary66]

TOTALLY AGREE. There are 1000's of toxic chemical ingredients used  in fragrances that can cause nerve damage, atrial fibrilation, anxiety, depression, asthma etc etc You don't need to have a preexisting condition to suffer physical harm.

[heartlady761]

I have been on this exact road with you. I had a really bad one a few nights ago. I was surprised to survive the night. It isn't related to panic as most of the time that's not relevant. I've done the recording device and it has caught minor irregularities. I know it isn't reflux because I feel it in my neck and head. Benedryl and aspirin help. Chocolate seems to set it off. I also am sick of doctors. It is associated with low blood pressure. Hormones may influence, and RA attacks may also be connected. All the best to both of us and anyone else out there barely making it through the night.

[Megthing]

Yep. Same thing for me. Chocolate and caffeine bring it on. Low blood pressure readings too.

[Megthing]

Yep. Same thing for me. Chocolate and caffeine bring it on. Low blood pressure readings too.

[me552011]

I googled in hope of finding any information on heart polputation and allergies that I have found this. I hope this message will reach to you all fine.

I have been having the same problems past 2 years. it happens around the spring time. Doctors said the same things what you heard. Now, I suspect that it may be related to seasonal allergies. This year my heart polputations are different than last year's. I have vertigo episodes as well. I take meclizine; it helps a little, makes me sleepy though. Also, water accumulates behind my ear causes dizziness. When these two combined, the episodes are unbearable. It always happens when I go to sleep during the early shallow duration. I wake .up with heart pulputation with numness on my arms,  but my breathing is normal. The numness sensation is start from tip of my fingers and gradually walks up to arms. Last night some how sleeping with 2 pillows helped. Allergies may cause the low blood pressure then this may elivate the heart polputation, dizziness, and the numbness.

One doc said that you don't develop allergies if you didn't have when you are little.One other doc. looked at my nouse and said I have allergies. I don't know who to beleive. I am affrait to go to sleep.

[Patsy6265]

The doc who said that was plain wrong. I’m quite old & only developed allergies a few years ago. Before that, nothing!

[clb998]

I don't know if this helps but when I had a bad palpitation a while back I was afraid to go to sleep also.  I decided to go sleep in the recliner.  That way I could turn on an old tv show low in the background and sitting up some made me less afraid of not waking up.  Maybe that would work for you.

[Jerry_NJ]

I deleted the double post.  If I made a mistake and it was not a duplicate please let me know so I can correct.  It was the 6th post in this series.

Jerry
Co-Leader Hearth Rhythm

[sah376]

I know this thread is old but the subject itself is timeless. I want to share briefly my experience. Bottom line, one day, out of the blue, my heart started skipping a beat and the next beat was strong, as if my heart tried to catch up. These episodes occurred several times a day, but the frquency increased as i went to bed at night.  All started in early May in the Washington DC area. I mention this because, as you will see, allergies were the culprit, if not the cause per se, at least the exacerbation of symptoms. The point is that the doc didnt find any problem with my heart, although he could see the ECG and see clearly the abnormal beat. He even put me a Holder for 24 hours and made all kinds of tests. Although he didnt know what to do, he put me on atenolol for two years, but the abnormal beats were there every alergy season (may and september), although subdued due to the beta blocker. Finally, and suspecting that somehow allergies were involved, i decided to start taking over the counter antihystaminic about a month before the allergy season went full blown. Simce then I already went through four allergy seasons and havent had any of those episodes again, even when i havent taken atenolol for more than two years. I have made some experiments with myself, for example, stopping taking allergy medication in the middle of the allergy season and, as predicted, the skipped beat reappears, and goes away again slowly after i retake the over the counter allergy pill. Everbody seems to agree that the problem is not the allergy per se, but that allergies somehow triggers a condition that i must already have, but nobody knows what it is. Hope this helps you guys experiment a little in these lines.

[dianeo33]

I am soooo happy to have found this site and this thread.  I have been having these pvcs off and on for 1 1/2 years now.  Trying in every way to figure out the trigger.  I have had cardiac workup, GI work up and all kinds of CT scans and ultrasounds, bloodwork.   Nothing!  Mine seem worse after dinner at night but also seem to be during allergy seasons.   Can you tell me which allergy medicine you took that worked?  I am thinking of trying Claritin.  I am very cautious with meds, as I am one of those people who usually get reactions or side effects.  Thank you and it is comforting to hear that I am not alone.  angelrev

[Ehrma]

I am so happy I came across this post, I am so worried about this condition I have now had for about 4 weeks. My PCP had first blamed what was going on on panic attacks however I have not ever had any and my anxiety level is super low. I have had a "weird" heart beat where I can feel almost all beats and a tightness in my chest that feels almost difficult to breath. I am at a loss on what to do but after reading this I am starting to wonder about the seasonal allergies playing a role. I have a cardiologist appt this week and I guess it wont hurt to mention this. I feel like my life is revolving around my heart issue and it is affecting all my normal activities. I need help!

[tom_h]

Springtime was always a peak period of supra ventricular tachycardia events for me.  I didn't take any allergy medicine because it too cause arrhythmia.  I always suspected it was the excessive sneezing that aggravated my heart into racing and skipping during allergy season.

Tell us what your're feeling.  Is your heart skipping, or beating quickly?  Elaborate for us.

[Margo1829]

Ehrma, did you find out anything at the doctors? i have your same symptoms. i have had every test even the cath. they say i am fine. if i am fine why do i have these palps and dizzy spells. i take xanx for i and a panicky person. just wondered what you found out.

[KmanOz]

I too have experienced everything you're talking about. Im convinced that GP's (General Practitioners) are absolutely useless at diagnosing and treating conditions that fall out of the norm. At least the ones I know of anyway.

It's spring time here in Australia and I have to be careful what I eat as well as it can aggregate the condition you're describing above. I knew I wasn't alone and am glad I found this thread. My doctor says, don't worry about it but he doesn't have to live with it.

Had a bad case last night and today I noticed my glands are hurting a little as well but at least my rhythms are back to norm. It's irritating trying to fall asleep when every second or third beat is a stronger one. At least this Allergy season I haven't broken out into welts yet.

I love Spring for all of its changes BUT I HATE SPRING !!!

:)

[Livesimply4]

What allergy medication did you take that was over the counter? I have tried some but they too have caused my heart to beat irregularly.

Brenda

[Linfred]

I use Quercitin for my allergies and it works wonders.

[JrzB]

Doctors the world over are CLUELESS because they do only what big pharma tells them to do. It is so much more profitable for bigbusiness to put you on expensive regimens, than find the root cause. I went through that whole gamut, with the AMA docs scratching their heads (and other parts of their anatomies) but I accidentally discovered the cause of skipped beats. As others above, I verified it with a simple design of experiments. Candle vapors, and burnt cooking oil set the skipping off. The concentration does not have to be high. I was in a nearly empty church last Sunday and the candle vapors first started burning my eyes and shortly after, thud--thud went my heart. I was never allergic to these substances earlier. I blame it on other medications I was recently subjected to by my Quack who is nothing more than a stooge for Big Pharma.

[Glori19]

Oh my your story is so interesting! I had an ablation 5 days ago due to 3 SVT episodes in the past 7 years where I ended up in the ER. After the first SVT I was put on a beta blocker. Interestingly enough, when I met with the Cardiologist who specializes in electrophysiology, he asked me if my allergies and asthma were present prior to me starting the beta blocker. I was really taken back and wondering what that would have to do with anything. Now as I think about it, I was diagnosed with seasonal asthma after being on my beta blocker. I stopped my metoprolol after the ablation so it will be interesting to see my allergy and asthma issues change. I was shocked when I saw you had figured out what was causing some of your heart stuff and recalled I was standing over the stove cooking with hot oil when my 2nd SVT started. Amazing how everything must be connected. Thanks for sharing your story.

[JrzB]

Glad to share experiences. Networking is the BEST way to figure things out. By the way, I also discovered that I am allergic to doctor's offices...(just kidding)...I am actually allergic to the cleaning chemicals they use. I ill-advisably agreed to a visit on a Saturday morning. They clean the patient-consultation rooms extra-thoroughly Friday evenings. The smell of the chemical drove me nuts. My bp is normally 120/80. They were measuring 150/90. I was astounded because I have been monitoring and graphing these numbers for years, and the numbers are quite stable, until the recent events.

[RickSte]

This thread has made me feel so much better, I have felt crazy having a seasonal heart condition for the best part of 10 years.

I have been suffering from a combination of palpitations and irregular missed beats and it always starts around the end of March and dissipates by May. Then starts again to a lesser extent, for a few weeks in Oct/Nov.

I am physically fit middle-aged with a resting HB around  53 and  doing outdoor sports all my life and running most days. In fact I have often suspected that the condition was a result of overdoing some activity or other.

The episodes almost always occur in the evening while relaxing and they sometimes wake me up at night leaving me feeling breathless.
I am unsure whether it was the emergence of this condition which kicked of stress and insomnia or whether it just made it worse pushing me to the GP 7 yrs ago. They gave me all the heart tests they could with no answers and now just manage the insomnia.

I will now approach the condition with a  view to allergies and see if those med help at all.
Thanks for sharing.

[Chuckt24]

I have had this problem for several years. My worst month is April, and I've also had issues in the fall. I believe this may be associated with three pollen in the spring and ragweed in the fall. But April is always the worst. I wore a monitoring belt one time, and the doctor told me I was having premature heartbeats. He offered no solution. When this same thing began to happen year after year at the same time, I began to suspect a link to allergies. And, like someone in a previous post, I've also experienced problems with fluid in my ears, which causes dizziness and lack of balance.

[gabbybh]

I do the same...plus add NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) and it's amazing!!

[SAZZIEBOO]

hi

is that an anti allergy medication? Thanks

[Jolf]

I started to have irregular heartbeats 6 months ago.  The only major change in my life at the time was that my son homed another 3 cats (now we have 5 who live outside for the most part).  I think that was probably what kicked the palps off, especially reading what you have all written here.  I have always had a mild cat allergy, but have managed it easily by avoiding direct contact. I suspected this triggered (somehow??) the weak strong heartbeats but the doctor completely disagreed and sent me for all the usual heart exams.  Everything came back okay (thankfully) although I did discover I was born with a prolapsed valve in my heart (MVP) which is fairly common and inconsequential (some people go through their whole lives without discovering they even have this).  I wonder, after reading all of the posts here, if it's not the allergy per se, but a combination of the heart 'structure' and the allergy lowering my blood pressure.  I am a relaxed person generally, and my blood pressure has always been on the low side anyway.  Also changes in hormone levels may play at part (I am now 47).  Today, I just came back from my final consult with the doctor who confirmed he doesn't know what causes the palpitations and offered me beta blockers (which I won't take) and he also refused to refer me to an allergist when I shared my ideas with him.  I am now planning to find a good kinesiologist who might be able to help with the allergy (I have had good results in the past with one - miraculous even).  Thanks, everyone, for sharing your situations, it has really helped me. Oh, I should also mention, sometimes (but not always) if I take a Piriton (mild allergy medicine) the palps stop for a while, but I don't like taking them often, so don't know if they would work long term.  I am now going to start paying attention to how different foods affects them too.

[SAZZIEBOO]

so reassuring to read this!! nobody understands how scary palpitations are until they have to live with them. Im convinced mine are food related. "bad" food eg processed sets me off. Organic clean pure food im ok with. I seem to be bad I March april and now im seeing a theme here and going to try allergy meds. I think the chemicals we are exposed play big part. thanks all

[Bridgewolf]

Hi o get it too when in exposed to even laundry detergent. You for sharing. It's comforting for me to hear from other sufferers too. The palpitations are scary and I feel like no one understands as well. Having a hard time. Ty so much.

[Thebestisyet2]

any luck calming heart rates down when pollens are up?

[Edd13]

I narrowed it down to aftershaves and deodorants....once i stopped using them the palpations stopped.